Cattle remains are still fed to chickens and the poultry litter is fed back to cows. In this way, prions -- the infectious proteins that cause mad cow disease -- may continue to cycle back into cattle feed and complete the cow "cannibalism" circuit blamed for the spread of the disease.

Let's hope that the newly reported case of mad cow disease in a California dairy cow will renew interest in closing the loopholes in feed regulations that continue to allow the feeding of slaughterhouse waste, blood and manure to farm animals in the United States.